I wanted Captain America: Brave New World to be good. It had all the right ingredients: Anthony Mackie—one of Marvel’s most effortlessly charismatic actors—returning as the ever-compelling Sam Wilson, a political thriller setup that puts Captain America back where he thrives, and a strong legacy of three solid predecessors to build on. Yet, as I walked out of the theater, I found myself questioning whether its creators had ever even seen a Marvel movie, let alone a great film.
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While Brave New World attempts to launch into action, it never quite finds its footing. The premise should be straightforward and engaging: Harrison Ford’s Thaddeus Ross, now the U.S. president, is struggling with the ghosts of his militaristic past while Captain America unravels a sabotage plot against him.
However, the film commits one of Marvel’s biggest storytelling sins—it assumes you’ve done your homework. Rather than standing on its own, Brave New World feels like an extended footnote to 2008’s The Incredible Hulk and the 2021 miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Even as a longtime fan, I found myself struggling to care about the constant callbacks and convoluted connections. Casual viewers? They don’t stand a chance.
Add Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War to your required viewing list, and maybe—just maybe—you’ll have enough background to find significance in Brave New World. But that’s assuming there’s anything significant here in the first place. There isn’t. The film plays like a stitched-together collection of plot beats, serving as little more than a two-hour reminder that these characters still exist.
That might have been forgivable if Brave New World didn’t completely squander its talented cast. Anthony Mackie is given nothing to work with—Sam Wilson neither learns nor grows, making him feel less like a protagonist and more like a talking action figure with a limited set of pre-programmed responses. He even throws a shield! Worse still, the effortless humor that once made Wilson such a dynamic character is all but gone.
Instead, the comedic burden falls on Danny Ramirez’s Joaquin Torres, the new Falcon. Ramirez is undeniably charming, but Torres’ over-the-top enthusiasm and constant quips make him feel more like an eager teenage sidekick than a seasoned soldier well into his 30s.
One has to wonder if Brave New World sounded infinitely more compelling when Hollywood icons like Harrison Ford, Giancarlo Esposito, and Tim Blake Nelson first signed on. Or maybe Marvel Studios lured them in with a contract sealed in blood. What else could explain why these powerhouse actors would sully their résumés with this entry? The whole thing feels like they picked up a seasonal gig at T.J. Maxx just for the extra cash.
That said, there is one bright spot: Carl Lumbly’s Isaiah Bradley. First introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Bradley is a former super soldier who was imprisoned and experimented on by the U.S. government for 30 years. Here, he’s the only one who seems to understand that Captain America is at his best when challenging—not aligning with—the government. He urges Wilson to resist working alongside President Ross and his administration.
Wilson, inexplicably, rejects this logic. Instead, he insists that Captain America should stand by the U.S. president in the name of unity. Given today’s political climate, is that really the message Marvel wants to send? The studio has long been criticized for its ties to military propaganda and its tendency to uphold the status quo, but this is a new low. The film’s entire emotional arc hinges on the idea that Ross, despite his history of villainy, deserves redemption. That concept can work—see Spider-Man: No Way Home—but Brave New World doesn’t earn it. Instead, it offers an unsettling defense of unchecked power, where those responsible for past harm are simply allowed to move forward without consequences.
If you’re only in it for the fight scenes, Brave New World does deliver some well-choreographed action. But while the sequences are technically impressive, they lack the raw intensity and impact of a truly great action film. Honestly, you’d be better off saving your time and money by revisiting the iconic highway fight from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. In fact, if you’re looking for political intrigue and a compelling portrayal of Sam Wilson, just rewatch The Winter Soldier in its entirety—you won’t find those things here.